Stargazer
by dandyspacedude
Summary: Niles has always loved the stars because they've remained the one constant in his chaotic life. That is until Corrin came along
Niles gazed into the expanse of space that lay above him. The twinkling lights that seemed perhaps close but were so far away, he could mark the most significant ones. With a finger he could trace constellations in the sky forming the shapes of beasts of yore and almost forgotten heroes. Even if human mouths rarely spoke their names, they would at least be remembered by the heavens forever marked in the minds of those who saw them shine. To Niles they stood as the one constant in life. Life otherwise meant chaos and change. Opportunity and survival, a lesson that would take shape in the cavity where his eye had once been. Even with the monstrous path he had taken in order to fight to live, if there was one thing he could always count on it would be the stars. Someone had once told him that we were all made of the same stuff that the stars were made of, but Niles disagreed. The stars and their world seemed beyond the depravity of humanity. Closing his one good eye he remembered the cold streets of Nohr. Abandoned, hungry, alone. A snow-haired child cowering in the alley-way, waiting for the love that he would not find. That was when he first looked up. Looking at the stars in the sky that shone above him. Their magnificence could not be found on this earthly realm.

A familiar voice stirred him from his thoughts. "Mind if I join you?" it said and Niles turned to face the handsome visage of his husband. Corrin stood in the dark, almost shining with the same brilliance of the moon and Niles smiled at him. He had originally planned on this being a solitary evening but he would always make an exception for the man he loved. "The air is cool tonight, dear." he replied "make sure you lay right next to me." He was teasing, somewhat, but still the other man did exactly that, resting his head upon Niles' shoulder and intertwining their hands. "I hope I wasn't interrupting any alone time." Corrin said "I know it's important to you but I... I just wanted to spend some time with you. I mean with this war and me being gone from you..." Niles laughed "Never apologize for that. I could never tire of enough time with you." Corrin responded by squeezing Niles' hand, shifting his attention as well to the stars. They stayed silent for a while just enjoying each other's company as well as the sky. "I never really looked at it properly until I met you" Corrin whispered "I was always thinking of my troops or the battles ahead that I never gave the time to just look at the stars as you do." Niles wrapped an arm around his husband as a chill wind came over them "The stars have witnessed everything that has happened. They were here long before either of us and will continue to watch over when we are gone." Corrin shivered, although perhaps not so much from the cold, "Our silent watchers... I wonder what they must think of us down below." "Not much I suppose." Niles replied "Our affairs seem perhaps trivial compared to their existence." Corrin pondered this for a moment "It's funny to think that we often see ourselves and all that we do as the very beginning or even the end of history as we know it and yet... I think that regardless of what we do or what happens to us there will always be the stars."

Usually Niles would have agreed with him but something about the warmth of his lover's hand and the way his face seemed to continue to shine in the moonlight had changed him. It was a revelation that he had failed to realize before. "It is not really about what the stars think" Niles said, turning to face Corrin and placing his other hand gently on Corrin's face, "As you said they will always be there regardless, but there is one other constant in my life." Corrin looked at him confused "What is that?". Niles stroked his face and whispered "It is that I know I love you. Even the stars will bear witness to that." He was almost shocked to hear such words come from his own mouth. The effect Corrin had on him was almost too much, but in that moment he didn't care as the other man gazed at him with the same amount of love. "Niles..." Corrin whispered back "if that is true then they also know how much I love you." Niles chuckled "Listen to myself, I've become so soft and sappy these days... but it's ok because it's you. You the one who chose to marry a low born thief like me." Corrin scoffed a bit "Do you still really see yourself that way? Because I see you like one of them." "One of them?" Niles questioned. Corrin shifted slightly out of Niles' embrace and pointed upwards, towards where the stars were. Niles could not think of a reply, be it a suggestive remark or a tease and instead chose to bring Corrin's face back to his to join their lips together. Corrin seemingly melted under the touch, the warmth between them quickly cancelling out the cool air. After they parted, Niles lightly stroke Corrin's cheek with a calloused thumb.

"You know" he said "as much as I like laying here and looking at the stars with you it is getting pretty cold." Corrin raised an eyebrow "Oh? Perhaps you have a suggestion what we can do to amend that?" Niles smirked at how quickly Corrin had become at bantering back and more confident since their marriage. "Well if you must know" Niles said "It involves you on top of me, naked of course, in our lovely silk bed doing the sort of thing that would make priests blush." Corrin laughed "That does sound rather tempting. Perhaps we shall leave the stars for at least tonight then love?" "For next time" Niles agreed "For now I'm going to carry you all the way back into our room so I can rip those clothes off of you."


End file.
